The 2025 college football season is fast approaching, and with less than three weeks until kickoff, anticipation is rising. Monday's release of the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll provides the first official glimpse at how the projected top programs stack up entering another pivotal campaign.

Texas holds the top spot in the USA Today preseason coaches football poll. Defending national champion Ohio State is No. 2 followed by No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Notre Dame.

If the poll is any indication, Bret Bielema's peers think much more highly of the Illini this season than a number of experts